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Coordinates: 31°45′15″S 159°15′06″E / 31.75417°S 159.25167°E / -31.75417; 159.25167
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{{Short description|Island in the Pacific Ocean}}
{{Short description|Island in the Pacific Ocean}}
{{distinguish|Bass Pyramid}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
⚫
{{Infobox islands

| native_name = <!-- or |local_name= -->
⚫
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Ball's Pyramid
| native_name_link =
| photo = Balls Pyramid near Lord Howe Island.jpg
| native_name_lang =
| sobriquet = <!-- or |nickname= -->
| photo_caption = Ball's Pyramid viewed from the north
| image_name = Balls Pyramid near Lord Howe Island.jpg
⚫
| elevation_m = 562
| elevation_ref =
| image_size = 280
| image_caption = Ball's Pyramid seen from the surrounding waters
| prominence_m =
| image_map = Ball's Pyramid and Lord Howe Island map v2.svg
| prominence_ref =
| map = Oceania
| image_map_size =
| image_map_caption = Ball's Pyramid is to the southeast of Lord Howe Island
| map_caption = Location on a map of [[Oceania]]
| location = [[Lord Howe Island|Lord Howe Island Group]], [[Australia]]
| pushpin_map = Oceania
| range = Lord Howe Island Group
| pushpin_label =
| topo =
| pushpin_label_position =
| type = [[Volcanic plug]]
| pushpin_map_alt =
| age = < 7 million years
| pushpin_relief =
| pushpin_map_caption =
| volcanic_arc/belt = [[Lord Howe Seamount Chain]]
⚫
| coordinates = {{Coord|31|45|15|S|159|15|06|E|type:isle_region:AU_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| last_eruption = Unknown
| etymology =
⚫
| coordinates = {{Coord|31|45|15|S|159|15|06|E|type:mountain_region:AU_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| location = [[Pacific Ocean]]
| range_coordinates =
| archipelago =
| coordinates_ref =
| first_ascent = 1965
| waterbody =
| total_islands =
| major_islands =
| area_km2 = <!-- or |area_m2= or |area_ha= -->
| area_footnotes =
| rank =
| length_m = 1100
| length_footnotes =
| width_m = 300
| width_footnotes =
| coastline_km = <!-- or |coastline_m= -->
| coastline_footnotes =
⚫
| elevation_m = 572
| elevation_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web |title=Ball's Pyramid |url=https://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=11769 |website=Peakbagger |access-date=17 March 2023}}</ref>
| highest_mount =
| country = {{AUS}}
| country_admin_divisions_title = State
| country_admin_divisions = [[New South Wales]]
| timezone1 =
| utc_offset1 =
| timezone1_DST =
| utc_offset1_DST =
| website =
| additional_info =
| footnotes =
}}
}}
⚫
'''Ball's Pyramid''' is an uninhabited [[islet]] in the [[Pacific Ocean]] located {{convert|20.|km}} southeast of [[Lord Howe Island]]. The steep rocky [[basalt]] outcrop is the eroded [[volcanic plug|plug]] of a [[shield volcano]] and [[caldera]] that formed 6.4{{nbsp}}million years ago.<ref name="bpe"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Woodroffe |first=Colin |title=Balls Pyramid and the efficacy of marine abrasion |url=https://serc.carleton.edu/vignettes/collection/35376.html |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=Vignettes: Key Concepts in Geomorphology |publisher=Carleton College |language=en}}</ref> It is {{convert|572|m}} high, while measuring {{convert|1100.|m}} in length and only {{convert|300.|m}} across, making it the tallest volcanic [[stack (geology)|stack]] in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lordhoweisland.info/conservation/geo.htm|title=Geography and Geology|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912073751/http://www.lordhoweisland.info/conservation/geo.htm|archivedate=12 September 2014|work=Lord Howe Island Tourism Association|accessdate=2009-04-20}}</ref>


⚫
Ball's Pyramid, which is part of Australia's [[Lord Howe Island Marine Park]], is positioned in the centre of a submarine shelf surrounded by rough seas, which makes any approach difficult.<ref name="bpe">{{cite web |last=Woodroffe |first=Colin |date=29 May 2012 |title=Balls Pyramid and the efficacy of marine abrasion |work=Vignettes |publisher=[[Carleton College]] |url=http://serc.carleton.edu/vignettes/collection/35376.html |access-date=9 July 2013}}</ref>
⚫
'''Ball's Pyramid''' is an [[volcanic plug|erosional remnant]] of a [[shield volcano]] and [[caldera]]<ref name="bpe"/> lying {{convert|20.|km}} southeast of [[Lord Howe Island]] in the [[Pacific Ocean]]. It is {{convert|562|m}} high, while measuring {{convert|1100.|m}} in length and only {{convert|300.|m}} across, making it the tallest volcanic [[stack (geology)|stack]] in the world.<ref>[http://www.lordhoweisland.info/conservation/geo.htm Geography and Geology] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912073751/http://www.lordhoweisland.info/conservation/geo.htm |date=12 September 2014 }}, Lord Howe Island Tourism Association. Retrieved on 2009-04-20.</ref> Ball's Pyramid is part of the [[Lord Howe Island Marine Park]] in Australia and is over {{convert|643|km}} northeast of [[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]].

⚫
Steep, eroded, and formed 6.4&nbsp;million years ago,<ref name="bpe"/> Ball's Pyramid is positioned in the centre of a submarine shelf and is surrounded by rough seas, making any approach difficult.<ref name="bpe">{{cite web |last=Woodroffe |first=Colin |date=29 May 2012 |title=Balls Pyramid and the efficacy of marine abrasion |work=Vignettes |publisher=[[Carleton College]] |url=http://serc.carleton.edu/vignettes/collection/35376.html |access-date=9 July 2013}}</ref>


==History==
==History==
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[[File:Ball's Pyramid.jpg|thumb|left|Illustration that accompanied [[Arthur Phillip]]'s description]]
[[File:Ball's Pyramid.jpg|thumb|left|Illustration that accompanied [[Arthur Phillip]]'s description]]


The pyramid is named after [[Royal Navy]] [[Lieutenant (navy)|Lieutenant]] [[Henry Lidgbird Ball]], who reported discovering it in 1788. On the same voyage, Ball also [[Lord Howe Island#History|reported discovering Lord Howe Island]].
The pyramid is named after [[Royal Navy]] [[Lieutenant (navy)|Lieutenant]] [[Henry Lidgbird Ball]], who reported discovering it in 1788. On the same voyage, Ball also [[Lord Howe Island#History|discovered Lord Howe Island]], Ball's Pyramid's nearest landmass.


In ''The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson and Norfolk Island'' (1789), [[Arthur Phillip]] gives this description of the area around Ball's Pyramid.. before describing Lord Howe Island:
In ''The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson and Norfolk Island'' (1789), [[Arthur Phillip]] gives this description of the area around Ball's Pyramid before describing Lord Howe Island:


<blockquote>There lies about four miles from the south-west part of the pyramid, a dangerous rock, which shows itself a little above the surface of the water, and appears not to be larger than a boat. Lieutenant Ball had no opportunity of examining whether there is a safe passage between them or not.<ref name=ArthurPhilip>{{cite book |last=Philip |first=Arthur |date=1789 |title=The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson and Norfolk Island |publisher=[[John Stockdale]] |location=Piccadilly, London |url=https://archive.org/details/thevoyageofgover15100gut |access-date=9 April 2014}}</ref></blockquote>
<blockquote>There lies about four miles from the south-west part of the pyramid, a dangerous rock, which shows itself a little above the surface of the water, and appears not to be larger than a boat. Lieutenant Ball had no opportunity of examining whether there is a safe passage between them or not.<ref name=ArthurPhilip>{{cite book |last=Philip |first=Arthur |date=1789 |title=The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson and Norfolk Island |publisher=[[John Stockdale]] |location=Piccadilly, London |url=https://archive.org/details/thevoyageofgover15100gut |access-date=9 April 2014}}</ref></blockquote>


===Survey and exploration===
===Survey and exploration===
[[File:Balls Pyramid, South Pacific Denham 1853 Nla.obj-231291098.jpg|thumb|left|Denham's 1853 chart of Ball's Pyramid]]
[[File:Balls Pyramid, South Pacific Denham 1853 Nla.obj-231291098.jpg|thumb|upright|Denham's 1853 chart of Ball's Pyramid]]
In May 1853, [[Henry Mangles Denham]] with {{HMS|Herald|1824|6}} and {{HMS|Torch|1845|6}} surveyed the area around [[Lord Howe Island]] including Ball's Pyramid, producing the first chart of the pyramid.<ref>{{cite book |last1=David |first1=Andrew |title=The Voyage of HMS Herald |date=1995 |publisher=Melbourne University Press |isbn=0-522-84390--5 |pages=29-30}}</ref>
In May 1853, [[Henry Mangles Denham]] with {{HMS|Herald|1824|6}} and {{HMS|Torch|1845|6}} surveyed the area around [[Lord Howe Island]] including Ball's Pyramid, producing the first chart of the pyramid.<ref>{{cite book |last1=David |first1=Andrew |title=The Voyage of HMS Herald |date=1995 |publisher=Melbourne University Press |isbn=0-522-84390--5 |pages=29–30}}</ref>


The first recorded person to go ashore is believed to have been Henry Wilkinson, a [[geologist]] at the New South Wales Department of Mines, in 1882.
The first recorded person to go ashore is believed to have been Henry Wilkinson, a [[geologist]] at the New South Wales Department of Mines, in 1882.
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In 1964, a team from Sydney attempted to climb to the summit of the pyramid. However, the climbers were forced to turn back on the fifth day as they ran short of food and water. The expedition was the idea of Australian adventurer [[Dick Smith (entrepreneur)|Dick Smith]], who was a member of Rover Scouts at the time. The expedition also involved other members of the [[Scouts Australia|Scouting]] movement and other people. Smith went on the expedition, but did not attempt the climb due to an unexpected medical operation two weeks before the expedition.
In 1964, a team from Sydney attempted to climb to the summit of the pyramid. However, the climbers were forced to turn back on the fifth day as they ran short of food and water. The expedition was the idea of Australian adventurer [[Dick Smith (entrepreneur)|Dick Smith]], who was a member of Rover Scouts at the time. The expedition also involved other members of the [[Scouts Australia|Scouting]] movement and other people. Smith went on the expedition, but did not attempt the climb due to an unexpected medical operation two weeks before the expedition.


Ball's Pyramid was first climbed on 14 February 1965 by Bryden Allen, [[John Davis (filmmaker)|John Davis]], [[Jack Pettigrew]] and David Witham of the Sydney Rock Climbing Club. Jack Hill of New Zealand then climbed to the summit with Pettigrew on the following day. Don Willcox and Ben Sandilands were part of the support team.<ref>[http://www.uq.edu.au/nuq/jack/Bryden.html Bryden Allen's climbing page] (University of Queensland)</ref>
Ball's Pyramid was first climbed on 14 February 1965 by Bryden Allen, [[John Davis (filmmaker)|John Davis]], [[Jack Pettigrew]] and David Witham of the Sydney Rock Climbing Club. Jack Hill of New Zealand then climbed to the summit with Pettigrew on the following day. Don Willcox and Ben Sandilands were part of the support team.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106061931/https://www.uq.edu.au/nuq/jack/Bryden.html|title=Archived version of Bryden Allen's climbing page|website=Wayback Machine}}</ref>


In 1979, Smith returned to the pyramid, together with climbers John Worrall and Hugh Ward. They successfully reached the summit and unfurled a [[flag of New South Wales]] provided to them by [[Premier of New South Wales|Premier]] [[Neville Wran]].
In 1979, Smith returned to the pyramid, together with climbers John Worrall and Hugh Ward. They successfully reached the summit and unfurled a [[flag of New South Wales]] provided to them by [[Premier of New South Wales|Premier]] [[Neville Wran]].


Climbing was banned in 1982 under amendments to the Lord Howe Island Act, and in 1986, all access to the island was banned by the Lord Howe Island Board. In 1990, the policy was relaxed to allow some climbing under strict conditions, which in recent years has required an application to the relevant state minister.<ref>[http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA19960501045 Mr Andrew Fraser (Coffs Harbour)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929095404/http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA19960501045 |date=2007-09-29 }} in the [[New South Wales Legislative Assembly]], 1 May 1996</ref>
Climbing was banned in 1982 under amendments to the Lord Howe Island Act, and in 1986, all access to the island was banned by the Lord Howe Island Board. In 1990, the policy was relaxed to allow some climbing under strict conditions, which in recent years has required an application to the relevant state minister.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA19960501045|title=Mr Andrew Fraser (Coffs Harbour)|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929095404/http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA19960501045|archivedate=2007-09-29|work=[[New South Wales Legislative Assembly]]|date=1 May 1996}}</ref>


==Geography==
==Geography==
[[File:Ball's Pyramid2.jpg|thumb|right|Aerial view]]


Like Lord Howe Island and the [[Lord Howe Seamount Chain]], Ball's Pyramid is based on the [[Lord Howe Rise]], part of the submerged [[continent]] of [[Zealandia]]. Ball's Pyramid has a few satellite islets. Observatory Rock and Wheatsheaf Islet lie about {{convert|800|m}} west-northwest and west-southwest respectively, of the western extremity of Ball's Pyramid. Southeast Rock is a pinnacle located about {{convert|3.5|km}} southeast of Ball's Pyramid.
Like Lord Howe Island and the [[Lord Howe Seamount Chain]], Ball's Pyramid is based on the [[Lord Howe Rise]], part of the submerged [[continent]] of [[Zealandia]]. Ball's Pyramid has a few satellite islets. Observatory Rock and Wheatsheaf Islet lie about {{convert|800|m}} west-northwest and west-southwest respectively, of the western extremity of Ball's Pyramid. Southeast Rock is a pinnacle located about {{convert|3.5|km}} southeast of Ball's Pyramid.
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==Flora and fauna==
==Flora and fauna==
[[File:Balls Pyramid, Lord Howe Marine Park 1008.jpg|thumb|A closer view of the island]]

===''Melaleuca howeana''===
===''Melaleuca howeana''===
A ''[[Melaleuca howeana]]'' shrub was found growing on Ball's Pyramid. The bush was growing in a small crevice where water was seeping through cracks in the underlying rocks. This moisture supported relatively lush plant growth which had, over time, resulted in a buildup of plant debris several metres deep.{{cn|date=October 2021}}
A ''[[Melaleuca howeana]]'' shrub was found growing on Ball's Pyramid. The bush was growing in a small crevice where water was seeping through cracks in the underlying rocks. This moisture supported relatively lush plant growth which had, over time, resulted in a buildup of plant debris several metres deep.<ref name=geo>{{cite web|title=Lord Howe Island: Return of the tree lobster|url=http://www.geocurrents.info/place/australia-and-pacific/lord-howe-island-return-of-the-tree-lobster|publisher=GeoCurrents|access-date=9 September 2022}}</ref>


===''Dryococelus australis''===
===''Dryococelus australis''===
Ball's Pyramid supports the last known wild population of Lord Howe Island stick insect (''[[Dryococelus australis]]'').<ref name="Krulwich">{{cite web |last=Krulwich |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Krulwich |date=29 February 2012 |title=Six Legged Giant Finds Secret Hideaway for 80 years |publisher=[[National Public Radio]] |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2012/02/24/147367644/six-legged-giant-finds-secret-hideaway-hides-for-80-years |access-date=18 January 2016}}</ref>
Ball's Pyramid supports the last known wild population of the [[Dryococelus|Lord Howe Island stick insect]] (''Dryococelus australis'').<ref name="Krulwich">{{cite web |last=Krulwich |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Krulwich |date=29 February 2012 |title=Six Legged Giant Finds Secret Hideaway for 80 years |publisher=[[National Public Radio]] |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2012/02/24/147367644/six-legged-giant-finds-secret-hideaway-hides-for-80-years |access-date=18 January 2016}}</ref>


Following the last sighting of the Lord Howe Island stick insect on Lord Howe Island in 1920, the species was presumed extinct. Evidence of continued survival on Ball's Pyramid was discovered during the 1964 climb when a dead specimen was found and photographed. Throughout the following years, several more dead specimens were discovered, but attempts to find live specimens were unsuccessful.<ref>Smith, Jim (2016). ''South Pacific Pinnacle, The exploration of Ball's Pyramid''. Den Fenella press. {{ISBN|978-0-9943872-0-2}}</ref>
Following the last sighting of the Lord Howe Island stick insect on Lord Howe Island in 1920, the species was presumed extinct. Evidence of continued survival on Ball's Pyramid was discovered during the 1964 climb when a dead specimen was found and photographed. Throughout the following years, several more dead specimens were discovered, but attempts to find live specimens were unsuccessful.<ref name="pinnacle">{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Jim|year=2016|title=South Pacific Pinnacle, The exploration of Ball's Pyramid|publisher=Den Fenella press|isbn=978-0-9943872-0-2}}</ref>


In 2001, a team of [[Entomology|entomologists]] and conservationists landed on Ball's Pyramid to chart its flora and fauna. As they had hoped, they discovered a population of the Lord Howe Island stick insect living in an area of {{convert|6|by|30|m|-1}}, at a height of {{convert|100|m}} above the shoreline, under a single ''M. howeana'' shrub. The population was extremely small, with only 24 individuals. Two pairs were brought to mainland Australia, and new populations have been successfully bred<ref>{{cite web |last=Thomas |first=Abbie |date=14 February 2001 |title=Giant stick insect rediscovered |url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2001/02/14/245820.htm |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]}}</ref> with the ultimate goal of reintroduction to Lord Howe Island.
In 2001, a team of [[Entomology|entomologists]] and conservationists landed on Ball's Pyramid to chart its flora and fauna. As they had hoped, they discovered a population of the Lord Howe Island stick insect living in an area of {{convert|6|by|30|m|-1}}, at a height of {{convert|100|m}} above the shoreline, under a single ''M. howeana'' shrub. The population was extremely small, with only 24 individuals. Two pairs were brought to mainland Australia, and new populations have been successfully bred<ref>{{cite web |last=Thomas |first=Abbie |date=14 February 2001 |title=Giant stick insect rediscovered |url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2001/02/14/245820.htm |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]}}</ref> with the ultimate goal of reintroduction to Lord Howe Island.


In 2014 an unauthorised climbing team sighted live stick insects in an exposed position {{convert|65|m}} below the summit of Ball's Pyramid in a thicket of [[sedge]] plants, suggesting that the insect's range on Ball's Pyramid is more widespread than previously held and its food preferences are not limited to ''Melaleuca howeana''.<ref>Smith, Jim (2016). South Pacific Pinnacle, ''The exploration of Ball's Pyramid''. Den Fenella press. {{ISBN|978-0-9943872-0-2}}</ref><ref>Smith, Dick (2015). ''Balls Pyramid, Climbing the world's tallest sea stack''. Dick Smith Adventure Pty Ltd. {{ISBN|978-0-646-94603-0}}</ref>
In 2014, an unauthorised climbing team sighted live stick insects in an exposed position {{convert|65|m}} below the summit of Ball's Pyramid in a thicket of [[sedge]] plants, suggesting that the insect's range on Ball's Pyramid is more widespread than previously held and its food preferences are not limited to ''Melaleuca howeana''.<ref name="pinnacle"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Jim|year=2015|title=Balls Pyramid, Climbing the world's tallest sea stack|publisher=Dick Smith Adventure Pty Ltd.|isbn=978-0-646-94603-0}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
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==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Reflist}}


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
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* {{cite web |url= http://www.hydro.gov.au/asdd/source/ANZCW0099024956.html |title= Lord Howe Island and Ball's Pyramid |series= Nautical Chart |publisher= [[Australian Hydrographic Service]] |url-status= dead |archive-date= December 8, 2012 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20121208194253/http://www.hydro.gov.au/asdd/source/ANZCW0099024956.html }}
* {{cite web |url= http://www.hydro.gov.au/asdd/source/ANZCW0099024956.html |title= Lord Howe Island and Ball's Pyramid |series= Nautical Chart |publisher= [[Australian Hydrographic Service]] |url-status= dead |archive-date= December 8, 2012 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20121208194253/http://www.hydro.gov.au/asdd/source/ANZCW0099024956.html }}
* {{cite peakware|id=26|name=Ball's Pyramid }}
* {{cite peakware|id=26|name=Ball's Pyramid }}
* {{cite web |url= http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/australia/balls_pyramid/balls.html |title= Balls Pyramid |website= Volcano World}}
* {{cite web |url= http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/australia/balls_pyramid/balls.html |title= Balls Pyramid |website= Volcano World |access-date= 9 July 2013 |archive-date= 3 March 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183908/http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/australia/balls_pyramid/balls.html |url-status= dead }}
* {{cite web |url= http://www.uq.edu.au/nuq/jack/Bryden.html |title= Mountaineering exploits: Ball's Pyramid |first= Bryden |last= Allen |publisher= University of Queensland }}
* {{cite web |url= http://www.uq.edu.au/nuq/jack/Bryden.html |title= Mountaineering exploits: Ball's Pyramid |first= Bryden |last= Allen |publisher= University of Queensland }}


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[[Category:Polygenetic shield volcanoes]]
[[Category:Polygenetic shield volcanoes]]
[[Category:Islands of New South Wales]]
[[Category:Islands of New South Wales]]
[[Category:Pyramids in Australia]]

Latest revision as of 03:20, 16 December 2024

Not to be confused with Bass Pyramid.

Ball's Pyramid
Ball's Pyramid seen from the surrounding waters
Ball's Pyramid is to the southeast of Lord Howe Island
Ball's Pyramid is located in Oceania
Ball's Pyramid
Geography
LocationPacific Ocean
Coordinates31°45′15″S 159°15′06″E / 31.75417°S 159.25167°E / -31.75417; 159.25167
Length1,100 m (3600 ft)
Width300 m (1000 ft)
Highest elevation572 m (1877 ft)[1]
Administration
StateNew South Wales

Ball's Pyramid is an uninhabited islet in the Pacific Ocean located 20 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Lord Howe Island. The steep rocky basalt outcrop is the eroded plug of a shield volcano and caldera that formed 6.4 million years ago.[2][3] It is 572 metres (1,877 ft) high, while measuring 1,100 metres (3,609 ft) in length and only 300 metres (984 ft) across, making it the tallest volcanic stack in the world.[4]

Ball's Pyramid, which is part of Australia's Lord Howe Island Marine Park, is positioned in the centre of a submarine shelf surrounded by rough seas, which makes any approach difficult.[2]

History

[edit]

Discovery

[edit]
Illustration that accompanied Arthur Phillip's description

The pyramid is named after Royal Navy Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball, who reported discovering it in 1788. On the same voyage, Ball also discovered Lord Howe Island, Ball's Pyramid's nearest landmass.

In The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson and Norfolk Island (1789), Arthur Phillip gives this description of the area around Ball's Pyramid before describing Lord Howe Island:

There lies about four miles from the south-west part of the pyramid, a dangerous rock, which shows itself a little above the surface of the water, and appears not to be larger than a boat. Lieutenant Ball had no opportunity of examining whether there is a safe passage between them or not.[5]

Survey and exploration

[edit]
Denham's 1853 chart of Ball's Pyramid

In May 1853, Henry Mangles Denham with HMS Herald and HMS Torch surveyed the area around Lord Howe Island including Ball's Pyramid, producing the first chart of the pyramid.[6]

The first recorded person to go ashore is believed to have been Henry Wilkinson, a geologist at the New South Wales Department of Mines, in 1882.

In 1964, a team from Sydney attempted to climb to the summit of the pyramid. However, the climbers were forced to turn back on the fifth day as they ran short of food and water. The expedition was the idea of Australian adventurer Dick Smith, who was a member of Rover Scouts at the time. The expedition also involved other members of the Scouting movement and other people. Smith went on the expedition, but did not attempt the climb due to an unexpected medical operation two weeks before the expedition.

Ball's Pyramid was first climbed on 14 February 1965 by Bryden Allen, John Davis, Jack Pettigrew and David Witham of the Sydney Rock Climbing Club. Jack Hill of New Zealand then climbed to the summit with Pettigrew on the following day. Don Willcox and Ben Sandilands were part of the support team.[7]

In 1979, Smith returned to the pyramid, together with climbers John Worrall and Hugh Ward. They successfully reached the summit and unfurled a flag of New South Wales provided to them by Premier Neville Wran.

Climbing was banned in 1982 under amendments to the Lord Howe Island Act, and in 1986, all access to the island was banned by the Lord Howe Island Board. In 1990, the policy was relaxed to allow some climbing under strict conditions, which in recent years has required an application to the relevant state minister.[8]

Geography

[edit]

Like Lord Howe Island and the Lord Howe Seamount Chain, Ball's Pyramid is based on the Lord Howe Rise, part of the submerged continent of Zealandia. Ball's Pyramid has a few satellite islets. Observatory Rock and Wheatsheaf Islet lie about 800 metres (2,600 ft) west-northwest and west-southwest respectively, of the western extremity of Ball's Pyramid. Southeast Rock is a pinnacle located about 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) southeast of Ball's Pyramid.

The shelf is 20 kilometres (12 mi) in length and averages 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) in width and lies under an average depth of 50 metres (160 ft) of water.[2] It is separated by a 500-metre-deep (1,600 ft) submarine canyon from another shelf on which Lord Howe Island is located. The cliffs of the stack continue under the water surface to the level of the shelf.

Flora and fauna

[edit]
A closer view of the island

Melaleuca howeana

[edit]

A Melaleuca howeana shrub was found growing on Ball's Pyramid. The bush was growing in a small crevice where water was seeping through cracks in the underlying rocks. This moisture supported relatively lush plant growth which had, over time, resulted in a buildup of plant debris several metres deep.[9]

Dryococelus australis

[edit]

Ball's Pyramid supports the last known wild population of the Lord Howe Island stick insect (Dryococelus australis).[10]

Following the last sighting of the Lord Howe Island stick insect on Lord Howe Island in 1920, the species was presumed extinct. Evidence of continued survival on Ball's Pyramid was discovered during the 1964 climb when a dead specimen was found and photographed. Throughout the following years, several more dead specimens were discovered, but attempts to find live specimens were unsuccessful.[11]

In 2001, a team of entomologists and conservationists landed on Ball's Pyramid to chart its flora and fauna. As they had hoped, they discovered a population of the Lord Howe Island stick insect living in an area of 6 by 30 metres (20 by 100 ft), at a height of 100 metres (330 ft) above the shoreline, under a single M. howeana shrub. The population was extremely small, with only 24 individuals. Two pairs were brought to mainland Australia, and new populations have been successfully bred[12] with the ultimate goal of reintroduction to Lord Howe Island.

In 2014, an unauthorised climbing team sighted live stick insects in an exposed position 65 metres (213 ft) below the summit of Ball's Pyramid in a thicket of sedge plants, suggesting that the insect's range on Ball's Pyramid is more widespread than previously held and its food preferences are not limited to Melaleuca howeana.[11][13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Ball's Pyramid". Peakbagger. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Woodroffe, Colin (29 May 2012). "Balls Pyramid and the efficacy of marine abrasion". Vignettes. Carleton College. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  3. ^ Woodroffe, Colin. "Balls Pyramid and the efficacy of marine abrasion". Vignettes: Key Concepts in Geomorphology. Carleton College. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Geography and Geology". Lord Howe Island Tourism Association. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
  5. ^ Philip, Arthur (1789). The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson and Norfolk Island. Piccadilly, London: John Stockdale. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  6. ^ David, Andrew (1995). The Voyage of HMS Herald. Melbourne University Press. pp. 29–30. ISBN 0-522-84390--5.
  7. ^ "Archived version of Bryden Allen's climbing page". Wayback Machine.
  8. ^ "Mr Andrew Fraser (Coffs Harbour)". New South Wales Legislative Assembly. 1 May 1996. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  9. ^ "Lord Howe Island: Return of the tree lobster". GeoCurrents. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  10. ^ Krulwich, Robert (29 February 2012). "Six Legged Giant Finds Secret Hideaway for 80 years". National Public Radio. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  11. ^ a b Smith, Jim (2016). South Pacific Pinnacle, The exploration of Ball's Pyramid. Den Fenella press. ISBN 978-0-9943872-0-2.
  12. ^ Thomas, Abbie (14 February 2001). "Giant stick insect rediscovered". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  13. ^ Smith, Jim (2015). Balls Pyramid, Climbing the world's tallest sea stack. Dick Smith Adventure Pty Ltd. ISBN 978-0-646-94603-0.

Further reading

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